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I know each and everyone agrees that the Help for Heroes is doing a marvellous job for our present day injured armed forces men, women and their families
I hope this help goes also to our dwindling band of men and women who served their country in Word War2, Korea, Malaya, Cyprus and all the other fields of conflicts since the Second World War. The sad part about the men and women who served in those conflicts was that when their demob came. The word counselling was not on the agenda.
Most ex-servicemen, two weeks after their demob were back at their old jobs. When I was a boy and growing up, men in wheelchairs or were blind or had lost an arm or hand was common sight. I worked in the local Shipbuilding Yard and to their credit employed a lot of men who had been injured during the war. It was here that I came into contact with many men who had suffered during the War. One cannot see the mental scars of the many individuals who have served their country. These men had to suffer it alone and it must have been quite traumatic for them suffering mentally all their lives. They needed help and sadly they did not get it.
I once heard a remark from a man who had served in Northern Ireland during the conflicts. He said a soldier may leave Northern Ireland, but Northern Ireland does not leave you. That statement summed it up perfectly for all the men and women who have been in conflicts throughout the world. Now in this present day, quite a few of our senior citizens are in the twilight of their lives. Obviously there are some who are struggling to make ends meet with all the soaring costs of food, gas, electricity etc.
Do you all agree, regardless of politics there should be a register in every city, town and rural areas of ex-service personnel and their families. Surely in this way they can be checked out and helped if they are in need. What is very important, these people and make no mistake they are proud people, must not be forgotten because they were once Heroes too.
Alan